Milk Bank Resources

For Health Professionals

Order milk for patients & hospitals

Order donor milk for your patients

Donor milk requires a prescription.

If the baby is still in hospital

Fax the 2 completed forms below to the BC Women's Provincial Milk Bank prior to the baby's discharge (Fax: 604-875-2871).

If the baby has been discharged from the hospital

Fax only the completed Prescription to Receive Donor Milk to the BC Women's Provincial Milk Bank (Fax: 604-875-2871).

Order donor milk for your hospital

Fax or email the completed form to BC Women's Provincial Milk Bank (Fax: 604-875-2871; mbscreening@cw.bc.ca.

Donor milk is dispensed for (but is not limited to) the following conditions (HMBANA criteria):

Prematurity
Malabsorption
Formula intolerance
Immunologic deficiency
Congenital anomalies
Post-operative nutrition

Provided that supply is abundant, donor milk may also be dispensed for:

Lactation failure
Adoption
Illness in mother requiring temporary interruption in breastfeeding
Health risk to baby from the milk of the biological mother (e.g. HIV positive)
Death of mother who was breastfeeding

Donor milk is provided to babies who need it the most. Our supply depends on how many donors we have. When our supply is low we cannot always meet all requests. Every baby using donor milk needs to have an alternate feeding plan.

Refer parents to the handout Getting Human Donor Milk After Your Baby Leaves the Hospital.

Upon receipt of the milk, hospitals are responsible for dispensing the milk to babies who meet the eligibility criteria (physician or midwife’s order is required) and the mother’s consent is documented. Hospitals are responsible for tracking who receives the donor milk in case an issue arises.

Set up a collection depot

BC Women’s is partnering with BC health authorities to set up donor milk collection depots and to distribute pasteurized donor milk to babies in need in BC. Most of the time these babies are in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). As supply allows, we make milk available to other units to provide to inpatient babies who meet the eligibility criteria but are not in the NICU. Details about the system of donor screening, milk collection and receipt of donor milk are available in the Provincial Milk Bank Guideline.

Donor screening

BC Women's Lactation Services, in collaboration with donor mothers and their physicians, is responsible for screening donors for the Provincial Milk Bank.

Please encourage milk donations by asking prospective donors to complete the “E xpression of interest" form.

Email it to: mbscreening@cw.bc.ca

OR fax: 604 875-2871

OR phone the Milk Bank Reception at 604-875-3743.

For more information on donor screening, visit Donating Milk.

Milk Collection Depots

A Milk Collection Depot serves the local community by providing a space for women to drop off their milk for donation. Typically depots are located in hospitals and public health units and are the responsibility of the respective health authority. Our goal is to have milk collection depots in as many places as possible to make it easy for donors to drop-off their milk. The easier we make it for donors, the more likely they will donate milk.

Establishing a Milk Collection Depot requires minimal resources (e.g., a dedicated freezer and a designated person to receive and handle milk received from donors).

For more information on setting up a milk collection depot, please read the Provincial Milk Bank Guideline.

Resources for patients

Help Us Recruit Milk Donors

Please encourage women to consider donating their extra milk to the BC Women’s Provincial Milk Bank. The demand for milk is high and often exceeds supply. New donors are always needed.

Posters

"Got Extra Milk?" (please post in visible locations)

Information for Milk Donors

Becoming a Milk Donor

Collection and Storage of Breast Milk for Donation

Milk Donor Screening

Milk Donor Collection Depots

Information for Recipients of Donor Milk

Due to demand, we seldom have enough milk to supply recipients in other Canadian provinces and territories. For these families other HMBANA banks located in North America may be able to supply pasteurized milk. Contact information is found at HMBANA.org

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Provincial Health Services Authority